Meet The UMI Team!

Maria E. Vidal oversees the Peer Advocates mentoring program, advisory board, and the daily functions of the office and all program activities. Her professional experience includes coordinating the first two cohorts of the Peer Ambassador Program under the Division of Student Affairs. She has earned both her Master's Degree in Public Administration and Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). Maria has presented at the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) and NASPA Region II. Maria has been recognized for her work with the Urban Male Initiative, as she was named one of El Diario La Prensa's Mujeres Destacadas in 2015. Maria is also a proud "fur-mom" of a rescue German Shepherd/Chow named Beba! Maria can be contacted at mvidal@jjay.cuny.edu for any questions/concerns.

Yuleisy Michel Audain is originally from San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic and in the spring of 2016, she received her Bachelor’s in English with a minor in both Film Studies and Theater Arts at John Jay College. During her time at John Jay, she worked with Lloyd Sealy Library as a Lab technician, Peer Advocate mentor with the Urban Male Initiative and has been part of many clubs on campus such as Campus Activity Board. She has interned for the Broadway League in the Education and Engagement Department, which creates and supports Broadway industry education and community engagement programs for live theater. She has also interned with John Jay's Office of Video Production Services. She Co-Facilitates Sistah Circle where young women of color to express their thoughts and feelings about prominent topics in a safe environment. Yuleisy is passionate about movies with the goal of becoming a film director and owning her own production company, where she would like to help underrepresented students become more involved in the arts/film. Yuleisy can be contacted at yaudain@jjay.cuny.edu for any questions or concerns.

In Summer 2016, Jasmine graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Sociology from Queens College (CUNY). Jasmine is a graduate student majoring in Forensic Science with the passion to become a crime lab analyst and use forensic science to help promote a safer society. She is also a recipient of the Office for Student Research and Creativity (OSRC) Scholarship for the Fall 2018- Spring 2019 academic year. As an undergraduate student at Queens College, Jasmine was a part of the Black Male Initiative Program as a mentee, then a Peer Mentor at her campus. She has recruited many students to join the program and now she is at John Jay continuing to impact lives through the Urban Male Initiative program. Jasmine can be contacted at jgayle@jjay.cuny.edu for additional questions/concerns.

Dillon Michael James Epperson is a junior at John Jay College. He studies International Criminal Justice (ICJ) with a minor in criminology and a Dispute Resolution certificate. Born in Manhattan, raised in Jersey City, he wishes to foster that same diversity in the rest of the world and begins so with this global studies major. His focus as a McNair Fellow is to research restorative justice, truth, indoctrination and its deconstruction of the most heinous of crimes. He is an advocate for gender and LGBTQ justice, rehabilitation and reintegration, and education. He co-facilitates Guy Code, where men of color express their thoughts and feelings in a brave and safe environment while deconstructing unhealthy masculinities and exploring their intersectionalities. Dillon seeks to one day provide critical research that not only documents atrocities but strategies that involve identification of their root causes and their resolutions. He later wishes to pass that same passion to the next generation as a professor in global affairs. He lives in Bed-Stuy with his twin sister, and feline love, Velma. Dillon can be contacted at dillon.epperson@jjay.cuny.edu for additional questions/concerns.

Christopher Saint Jean is a junior at John Jay and is the Special Projects Assistant at UMI. Chris also served as an intern for UMI during the Summer of 2017. He is majoring in Political Science and plans on one day pursuing a doctorate in higher education. In the 2017- 2018 academic year, Christopher received the Malcolm King Scholarship for his active participation in the John Jay Community, became part of the Rom Moellis Social Innovation Fellowship and also became a recipient of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement program. Christopher represents the Urban Male Initiative as the Vice President of the Black Male Initiative Intercollegiate Council. Christopher can be contacted at csaintjean@jjay.cuny.edu for additional questions/concerns.

Stefan Campbell is a Junior at John Jay and is the Budgeting Assistant. Stefan interned with Urban Male Initiative in the Fall of 2017. He is a sociology major with a minor in philosophy and psychology. He was raised in Jamaica, Queens and strives to better the lives of others but specifically men of color through his influence and community service that he performs as a member of the Disaster Relief club at John Jay, a CUNY Service Corps student and also as a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Stefan can be contacted at stcampbell@jjay.cuny.edu f0r additional questions/concerns.